Knife-stabbing turns into police pursuit

OHIO VALLEY — Area police responded to a call Sunday morning regarding a woman who reportedly stabbed herself in the head with a knife, then led officers on a vehicular pursuit across the corners of three counties.

According to Meigs County Sheriff Keith Wood, deputies responded to a call at 9:32 a.m. regarding a woman who had supposedly stabbed herself in the head with a knife. Officers attempted to make contact with the woman to de-escalate the situation before she reportedly entered a red Cavalier and took off, nearly hitting an officer as she fled responders.

According to Wood, the pursuit started at about 9:49 a.m. on Price Strong Road and ended around 11:30 a.m. on Painter Ridge Road after Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers dispatched a spike strip across the road. The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle before crashing and finally being brought to a halt. She was taken by Meigs EMS to Holzer Medical Center in Gallipolis before ultimately being transported to a behavioral health care unit in Athens.

Reports could not confirm whether or not the woman had driven with the reported knife in her head or what had happened with the instrument. The woman reportedly sustained injuries during the crash.

The roughly hour-and-and-a-half pursuit crossed the southeast corner of Vinton County, the southwestern border of Meigs County and parts of northern Gallia County as the driver briefly led police across State Route 160. Wood described the pursuit as being mostly on “back roads.”

According to Sheriff Joe Browning, two Gallia County deputies responded to the pursuit. The address of the owner of the red Cavalier was reportedly registered in Gallia County.

Both Gallia and Meigs deputies in the past have received crisis intervention team training. The training is aimed at bringing law enforcement, mental health providers and emergency medical care departments together to improve responses to individuals facing crisis scenarios. Officers are trained in how to identify crisis issues and attempt to de-escalate dangerous situations as much as possible.